"Someone who is not a human? Do you mean Lu Bela?" Maria asked.
"Why do you bring up Lu Bela in every conversation we have? And no, it's not her. She is an artificial human that is no different than us humans."
Rudy activated his visible ability and scanned the area, only to find the source standing on the balcony.
"It's… Lilim…" he muttered.
"Right! I forgot she is a demon." Maria glanced around and asked, "Where is she?"
Rudy pointed his gaze at the balcony and said, "She was there a second ago."
"Where is she now?"
"She was most likely looking for us. And our eyes just met, so she is probably heading here."
A minute later, the music stopped, and the lights lit up the hall.
[Ladies and gentlemen, my dear guests, the first phase of the party has ended. Now, it's time for the grand feast. When you leave this hall, head to any door you see, and you will reach our dining hall. We have all the dishes available worldwide, so you can order anything you want— free of cost.
We have all types of drinks too. Please, eat and drink a lot. We have brought one thousand top-rated master chefs in the world who have mastered making each and every dish there is on the world's menu. We have both native and non-native food available for our guests from all over the globe.
However, please do keep in mind that one person is only allowed to have one dish and one drink. They can have unlimited fillings of the same dish and drink but can't order a new dish and drink.
The guards will be escorting you. Of course, if there are people who want to leave, they can stay here. Your ride will be arriving soon.]
'Undoubtedly, it's Lu Bela's voice, but she hadn't made her appearance in public. That makes sense since no one knows Lu Bela is the leader of the Under Blades and the ruler of the Underworld. But she could wear a mask like everyone else, right?
Well, whatever. I just want to meet Lilim. I have met all my harem members after I returned to 2008, but Lilim is the only one I haven't met yet. We talked over the video call, but that's different.'
"I will be meeting her after a year…" he muttered.
One by one, the guards started leaving to the dining hall to join the grand feast. Some guests stayed in the hall as they wanted to leave. While Rudy and Maria remained in the hall for a different reason.
Once all the guests had left the hall, Lilim came to the balcony again and jumped down, only to land in front of Rudy.
"Daddy~" She hugged him tightly and said, "Did you miss me?"
"Yeah…"
"I missed you too!"
"Ahem!" Maria made her presence known and glared at Lilim.
"Why, hello there, Miss Maria. I didn't see you there," Lilim said playfully while grinning widely.
Maria puffed her cheeks a little and continued glaring at Lilim.
"I knew you would greet Rudy first, but deep down, I still hoped you would greet me first," Maria sighed.
Lilim hugged Maria and said, "I missed you too!"
"It's too late now. I am angry."
Rudy hadn't told Lilim about his time travel to 1989 yet as he had some important questions to ask her, and he had to make sure Lilim didn't lie.
"Lilim, can I have some alone time with you?" he asked calmly.
"Oh, my~ You already want to have some fun?"
Maria pulled Lilim and turned to Rudy.
"You are not going anywhere. And no one is having alone time with anyone."
"You are misunderstanding. I want to—"
"Rudy Ross, I hope you liked my hospitality and are content with the experience of this event," Lu Bela's voice rang with a loud sound of footsteps.
Seemingly, she was on her way to the hall.
"Yes, I did. But I have one complaint. The sleeve buttons of this suit are annoying. Replace them with a clip next time, if there is one."
"Heh. No one can beat you, even in sarcasm."
Lu Bela appeared from a secret door and stopped in front of Rudy.
"...!"
Rudy was at a loss for words upon seeing Lu Bela. She had changed her appearance to the extent that he couldn't recognize her.
"Hey, hey. What happened to you? You look so different I almost didn't recognize you if it wasn't for your sexy voice."
Lu Bela's hair, which was once black, was now white, and her eyes were purple. She had big breasts and a perfect figure.
"After hundreds of thousands of millennia… I finally chose a gender for me."
"..."
She spun around as her hair spread a sweet fragrance around her.
"How do I look? I designed my new body while keeping your preferences in mind."
"You look absolutely stunning, but why would you change your look so much as to leave your old self behind? And what do you mean by 'design for my preferences?' Whoever told you that I like white hair?"
He asked and added, "Although… yeah, the rest of the things are…hmm~"
He nodded and hummed in amusement.
Lu Bela looked at Lilim and said, "Lilim told me."
Rudy shook his head in disbelief and sighed, "I sent you to Lu Bela to gain intel, not to give it. And you are wrong, by the way. It's not like I prefer white hair over black or other."
"But you once told me sex with Jane is the best."
"That's for different reasons, not because of hair."
"Then what if Jane also had red hair like Rias? Would you still say sex with Jane is best?"
"...no." Rudy facepalmed as he got himself confused.
"Anyway, go and change back to your original appearance. For some reason, I feel awkward talking to you in this appearance."
"Unfortunately, I can no longer go back to that appearance."
"Why not?"
"We can't change our forms once we have selected a gender."
